Private Client Services LLC Reduces Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Private Client Services LLC reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 48.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the quarter. Private Client Services LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.03.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.5 %

WSM traded down $0.92 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $194.45. 784,906 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,300,300. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $200.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.59.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.